Community Magazine April 2012

To • • Health CIGARETTEWARNINGS STAY SMALL A U.S. District Judge has blocked the Food and Drug Administration’s plan to require cigarette packages to be half covered with graphic health warnings. The ruling explained that the government’s move would illegally take away tobacco advertising space. Several tobacco companies had sued the Department of Health and Human Services to oppose the required warning labels. U.S. cigarette packages are still required to have text-only warnings against smoking. The proposed warning labels included graphic images of disease, statements regarding the consequences of cigarettes, and a toll-free number with advice for quitting. SLEEPINGPILLS LINKED TO EARLYMORTALITY People who took as few as 18 sleeping pills annually were over three times more likely to die early than those who do not use the pills, according to research, published in the journal BMJ Open. People who took between 18 and 132 pills a year were up to five times as likely to die young. Between 6 and 10 percent of adults in the U.S. used sleeping pills in 2010.Prescription sleeping pills are in a category called hypnotics, which includes zolpidem, temazepam and eszopiclone, and the scientists suggest that their benefits may be outweighed by their risks. Cognitive-behavioral therapy may be a safer and more useful alternative for chronic insomnia. Sleeping pills may lead to daytime dizziness, which can increase car accidents and falls. Their use may also be linked to depression and hazardous behavior. OLDER PEOPLE SLEEP BETTER Disproving the widely held belief that older people have more difficulty sleeping, new research published in the journal Sleep, found that although the elderly had more sleep disturbances, their issues were related to their health and illness, and not their age. The survey found that the quality of sleep improves as a person ages, except for an increase in sleep problems in middle-aged women. Those over age 80 reported the best sleep quality, and older people reported fewer disturbances in their sleep and less daytime fatigue. Older people may have fewer interruptions like jobs and kids that keep them from getting a good night’s sleep, or they may complain less about their problems. Elderly people who are experiencing sleep problems are advised to speak with their doctor, and not accept their difficulties as a normal part of aging. HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS DIFFER FORMEN ANDWOMEN Women, especially if they are under age 55, may have no chest pain or discomfort after a heart attack, and are thus less likely to seek immediate care and more likely to die of heart attacks than men of the same age, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers found that many women may not even realize they are having a heart attack because they don’t exhibit classic symptoms. Additional symptoms of heart attack that women should be aware of include unexplained shortness of breath, and pain in the jaw, neck, arms, back and stomach. The study found that 31 percent of men and 42 percent of women did not experience chest pain or discomfort after a heart attack. Women who have diabetes or a family history of heart disease, or who smoke cigarettes, should be aware of these less typical signs of heart attacks. WINTER ACTIVITY TAKESMORE AIR Exercising, and other kinds of exertion in the cold such as snow shoveling, results in an increased demand for oxygen, thus increasing the risk of heart attacks and death for those with heart disease. A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology and The American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology says that people with heart disease may have difficulty keeping up with the higher oxygen needs. The finding may explain why rates of deadly heart attacks rise in the winter. 90 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE